The Elephant in the Room
by kaser
Summary: Derek notices a porcelain elephant in Stiles' room the first time he's there waiting and it becomes a metaphor for the precious things in his life. Slight Derek/Stiles undertones. Based on the prompt "porcelain elephant" from a prompt generator.


Derek noticed it the first time he went to Stiles' house. Waiting for Stiles to return, he'd explored each and every pointless nicnac on the shelves. Most of it was pretty innocuous teenager stuff - baseball trophies, photos, little toys. But the elephant had seemed more than a little out of place. It was white, small and delicate, made out of porcelain. Derek had taken note of it that first day and forgotten about it as everything in his life continued barreling on at rapid pace.

But sometimes he thought about it.

The first time was later that day, as he crawled over broken glass, heard the crunch of it, desperate to keep Peter away from Stiles. He thought about the elephant shattering like the glass, crunching like the crushed pieces. He thought about Stiles shattering.

The next time had been on a quiet night. He'd lain awake and listened to the house creak around him, wondering if the burnt and battered walls would finally collapse in on him. He thought about the elephant smashing to pieces. He thought about his life smashing. He'd scouted out somewhere else to live after that, found the train depot.

He thought about it again when Isaac came to him that night, explained what had happened with his father in the kitchen, told him about the tiny shard of glass that barely missed his eye. He thought about the elephant breaking. He thought about Isaac breaking.

He thought about it as he listened to the retreating steps of Erica and Boyd, two frightened teenagers desperate for the comfort and security Derek couldn't provide. He thought about the elephant fracturing. He thought about his pack fracturing.

He thought of it as he destroyed the wall of the bank and came face to face with Cora, the little sister he thought was dead. He thought about the elephant getting destroyed. He thought about how he'd destroyed his family, even her.

He thought about it when he was falling. Thought about the elephant falling too. Thought about how they would both be ruined once they landed.

He was staring at it when Stiles came home, as if it held some secret that would enable him to set everything right, make the alphas disappear without hurting anyone else. He noticed then, looking at it so closely, the hair thin lines snaking around it and a chip in its left ear. He was just about to pick it up to examine more closely when Stiles opened the door. He let out the slightest gasp followed by a tense chuckle as he closed the door.

"I should have known you'd be here. What is it with you and hiding in my room when I think you're dead?" Stiles asked casually, coming to stand beside Derek. He gave Derek's shoulder a gentle squeeze and a small shake before shoving it into his pocket; a comfortable gesture born of familiarity. Derek couldn't remember when exactly Stiles had stopped feeling any tension around him. He couldn't remember when he'd decided that was okay, either.

Stiles was staring at him openly. Rather than meet his gaze, Derek went back to examining the elephant. He didn't pick it up, but he wanted to. After a while Stiles followed his gaze, shifted slightly bringing him closer. Derek could feel the edge of his flannel shirt brushing against his jacket sleeve.

"It was my mom's," Stiles said simply. "Dad packed up most of her stuff after... but I snagged this little guy." He reached across Derek to pick it up, his chest slid against Derek's arm as he did so. He stroked its rounded head gently, absentmindedly. "Just something small to remember her," he said quietly.

"It's broken," Derek said flatly. It sounded a little like an accusation, Derek wasn't sure it wasn't. He'd spent months thinking about that elephant, tieing it somberly to every fragile and precious thing that he never wanted to see broken. And here it was, cracked and chipped. It had been in pieces from the very beginning and, knowing that, Derek couldn't help but wonder if anything that mattered had ever stood a chance of being whole.

"Yeah," Stiles said, a hint of enthusiasm creeping into his voice. "You should have seen my face the first time it broke. I was totally freaked out."

"The first time?" Derek repeated incredulously. "It's broken more than once?"

"Oh yeah, loads of times. I'm not exactly the most gentle and nurturing guy on the planet, in case you haven't noticed. I've dropped it more than once." Somehow that knowledge seemed to make everything worse. Derek, still reeling from yet another near death experience, felt like his whole world was shattering yet again.

"But you know, it can be put back together. Maybe it's not perfect, it's got a few jagged edges here and there but..." He paused, cocked his head as if thinking about something.

"What?" Derek asked darkly.

"Nothing. Just thinking that it's kind of like you." He flopped back into his desk chair, stretching his legs out before him and examining the elephant as if it were something new and foreign.

"You think the elephant is like me?" Derek asked, feigned annoyance coloring his voice.

"Yeah man. You both keep breaking and getting put back together again. I can't tell you how many times I thought this thing was gone for good but I just kept gluing the pieces back on. Although with you I guess it's more like werewolfing the pieces back on." He'd gone back to stroking its head. Derek took an involuntary step toward him.

"I'm not," Derek whispered. He was looking at the elephant intensely, feeling just a little confused.

"What?" Stiles asked. Derek debated answering but decided, ultimately, that he needed to say it, needed it to be heard.

"I'm not put together. I'm still broken." Stiles looked at him, mouth agape, processing. After a moment a wide grin spread across his face. He stood and crossed the few feet between them, pressing the elephant into his hands and patting him on the back.

"Well, you'll get there. It just takes longer when there are so many pieces." He said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. Maybe it was, Derek thought as his thumb moved gently over the elephant's head; maybe it didn't matter that they were broken as long as long as someone was patient enough to see them put back together.


End file.
